Scam Squad

It starts with a call or a text from a tech support company that claims you are entitled to a refund. Watch out for Tech Support Scams! To report a scam or if you believe you have been scammed, call Vicki Johnson at 805.568.2442 Follow Scam Squad and other great podcasts on our website! hubforpodcasting.com/scam-squad/

Our guest, Richard, talks about recent Craigslist Scams he has encountered. To report a scam or if you believe you have been scammed, call Vicki Johnson at 805.568.2442 Follow Scam Squad and other great podcasts on our website! hubforpodcasting.com/scam-squad/

Deputy District Attorney Vicki Johnson interviews Dr. Judy Christman Yates, who shares about identity theft scams and how to avoid being a victim. To report a scam in Santa Barbara County, call the DA's fraud hotline at 805-568-2442. Follow our channel on YouTube @ Scamsquad

Doris Roof, Senior Fraud Specialist at Montecito Bank and Trust warns about mailers that appear to be medical bills, but are really subscriptions tricking people into sending the scammers a check, and tech scams. She also talks about how the bank can often identify fraudulant wire scams and warn their customers.

Deputy District Attorney Vicki Johnson shares two scams which use Pay Pal to dupe people. In one scam, a person who claims to be from 'Edison' insists that the victim MUST pay for a new meter via Pay Pal, or lose electricity for close to a week. In a second scam, the victim googles Pay Pal to learn how to send money but reaches a phony site. A scammer proceeds to guide the victim on how to send mo...

Restitution specialist, Dayton Aldrich, shows real-life footage of crooks who are peering in car windows for valuables to steal. He also gives great tips on protecting your purse from thieves and warns us not to engage with strangers in parking lots. These thieves often work in teams--and while one person distracts you, the other member of the team will steal your valuables. Stay safe! Don't miss...

A Montecito Bank & Trust Branch Manager becomes suspicious when her customer makes an uncharacteristically large cash withdrawal. With quick thinking and a pursuasive line of questioning, she saves her customer from turning over $13,000 to an unscrupulous scammer.

Fraud Specialist, Dr. Judy Christman Yates, reports on a plethora of IRS and tax scams and gives useful tips on how to avoid them. Deputy District Attorney Vicki Johnson ends the show with good news about members of the Nigerian "Black Axe Gang," many of whom recently faced justice for perpetrating romance scams and conning unsuspecting men and women out of large sums of money. Be sure to subscrib...

Deputy District Attorney Vicki Johnson interviews Dr Judy Christman Yates, who shares timely advice on many topics including how to do a safe internet search and how to look for legitimate organizations that may provide rent relief. She also delivers an important message about the economic impact payment cards--some people have been throwing them out, thinking the envelope it came in looked like j...

Join this special episode of Scam Squad where Co-host Patti Teel describes her experience being scammed to Deputy District Attorney Vicki Johnson. Patti describes her experience being scammed by RX Advocate. Beware of ordering prescription medications online. Fraudsters often appear to be non-profits or charity organizations. To report a scam or if you believe you have been scammed, call Vicki Joh...

Deputy District Attorney Vicki Johnson is back with Scam Squad this week to talk about mail theft. In this episode, Vicki's special guest is Dayton Aldrich, a victim's witness advocate in the District Attorney's office. Dayton talks about how his group helps victims of mail theft and gives us some good tips on how to prevent it. To report a scam or if you believe you have been scammed, call Vicki...

This episode of Scam Squad features Montecito Bank and Trust Senior Fraud Specialist, Doris Roof. Montecito Bank and Trust is on the front-lines combating scammers and alerting consumers not to be tricked by fraudsters! This week Doris Roof discusses puppy adoption scams, while reminding consumers not to send money in the mail or provide sensitive personal information to anyone whom you cannot ide...

Deputy District Attorney Vicki Johnson is back with Scam Squad once again to talk about scams that involve Amazon.com. Over the last few weeks, Vicki Johnson’s scam alert team has been notified of various scams that involve online e-commerce. Specifically, Vicki details recent elaborate scams where consumers were notified by what appeared to be amazon.com customer service. To report a scam or if y...

In this week’s episode of Scam Squad, Deputy District Attorney Vicki Johnson interviews our special guest Sarah. Sarah got in touch with Vicki Johnson through the Scam Squad Fraud Hotline. Sarah has a rental property in Santa Barbara County. It turns out that Sarah was renting her home through a property manager which may have allowed opportunity for a fraudster to infiltrate her beautiful propert...

This week highlights what Deputy District Attorney Vicki Johnson calls the ‘Amazon scam’. There are multiple ways that fraudsters impersonate Amazon or other online retail stores. Pay attention if you receive an email notice from any of these companies, as it could be an imposter! Since online shopping is so common these days, watch out for scammers trying to phish your information. To report a sc...

Everyone dreams of winning the lottery. But don't be fooled! If you receive an email, text message, phone call, or social media notification that you won a sweepstakes that you did not enter, chances are it is a scam! To report a scam or if you believe you have been scammed, call Vicki Johnson at 805.568.2442 Follow Scam Squad and other great podcasts on our website! hubforpodcasting.com/scam-squa...

With quarantine measures in place during the Covid-19 pandemic, people are finding new ways to meet and socialize online. As a result, online dating and social media websites are increasingly popular. But not everyone browsing social media sites is looking for innocent relationships. Professional scammers and fraudsters are stalking online social media and dating sites in order to steal valuable p...

Scam Squad welcomes Criminologist and Financial Crime Expert, Dr. Judy Christman Yates. Dr. Yates discusses upcoming scams to look for as the new COVID-19 vaccine continues to roll-out. Dr. Yates reminds listeners to seek official information from legitimate sources. Do not answer anonymous calls from strange phone numbers. Be sure to identify who exactly you are communicating with, especially if...

As you get older, it is normal to check the obituary to see if you know someone who passed on. Obituaries sometimes contain personal information about the deceased to tell a story of their life. Sometimes obituaries contain the full name of the deceased, as well as their residential address. Unfortunately, scammers take advantage of any situation in order to capitalize. Beware of obituary scams, b...

Happy New Year to all of our listeners, from our heart to yours! Unfortunately, scammers don’t take breaks for the holidays. With COVID-19 vaccines now available, it is predicted that there will be large scale scams related to COVID-19 testing kits and vaccines. Not only is it a financial danger to get scammed with fake products, but fake testing kits and vaccines could negatively affect your heal...

This episode of Scam Squad features Senior Fraud Specialist at Montecito Bank and Trust, Shawn Dyer. Shawn talks about a few reoccurring scams that seem to recirculate regularly. These common scams include, tech-support scams and scams where fraudsters impersonate official organizations like the FTC. Shawn reminds us that scams can happen to anybody! Be aware when giving out your personal informat...

This episode of Scam Squad features Judy Christman Yates, a senior financial fraud expert with over 13 years’ experience working in the Financial Fraud department as a volunteer with the Port Hueneme Police Department. She is also the author of a monthly financial exploitation newsletter. As online shopping during the holidays is increasingly popular, there are more ways for scammers to phish your...

This episode of Scam Squad features Judy Christman Yates, a senior financial fraud expert with over 13 years’ experience working in the Financial Fraud department as a volunteer with the Port Hueneme Police Department. She is also the author of a monthly financial exploitation newsletter. Judy talks about how to protect your identity and credit card information.

The holiday season is here! Especially this year, many people are shopping and buying gifts online. As we know, scammers are trying to take advantage of people in any way possible. When shopping online, be aware that fraudulent websites do exist. Only make purchases from secure websites and reputable sources. To report a scam or if you believe you have been scammed, call Vicki Johnson at 805.568.2...

This week’s episode features Victim Witness Advocate Dayton Aldrich. Dayton talks about the importance of secure digital passwords and provides tools that can help you protect your identity when shopping or browsing online. To report a scam or if you believe you have been scammed, call Vicki Johnson at 805.568.2442